The Lover

by E. L. Todd

  “You don’t have a lot of girlfriends, do you?”

  She blinked several times, like she couldn’t believe that was the first thing that came out of my mouth.

  “Let me teach you something about women. We don’t steal men from each other or talk shit about one another. We don’t say a woman isn’t pretty enough for her man. We hold one another up because we want the same respect in return. So take a look at yourself and think about who you want to be. Do you want to be the kind of woman that’s so selfish she doesn’t care about hurting someone else? Because one day, you’re going to fall in love with a man, and when you see someone younger, more beautiful, and more successful trying to take him away from you, you’re going to be scared…very scared.” I turned around and walked back to Finn, unsure if those words would ever sink in. What I really wanted to do was punch her in the face and make it bruised for weeks, but words were more powerful than violence. I returned to Finn and took his hand again.

  “What did you say to her?” We crossed the road and heading to the parking lot where the truck was waiting.

  I shrugged. “Just some girl talk.”

  He was already naked when I came out of the bedroom. Sitting against the headboard with his rock-hard dick on his stomach, he stared at me like I was the sexiest thing he’d ever seen. The curves of my small love handles aroused him rather than deterred him. The way my thighs jiggled a little when I moved didn’t lower his opinion of me at all.

  I wore a black baby doll dress without any panties underneath. I knew they wouldn’t stay on long anyway. The push-up bra made my tits enormous, and the see-through material had little sparkles in the fabric. It was one of my new items in inventory, and even though it was expensive, I’d bought it myself.

  I was happy I had someone to buy lingerie for.

  His eyes watched me move closer to the bed, his dick getting harder and darker the longer he waited. His hands rested by his sides, but he seemed restrained. When he swallowed, the muscles in his neck shifted. His lips pressed tightly together, like he was so turned on, it actually hurt.

  I crawled onto the bed and made my way up to him.

  His hands gripped my hips, and he pulled me into his lap, setting my slit right against his shaft. He squeezed my body as he brought me in close for a kiss, a soft kiss that was delicate and slow.

  Our mouths moved together, opening and closing as we enjoyed the affection of the kiss. Our breaths mixed together before they became heated and passionate, our tongues getting into the mix.

  His hand moved into my hair, and he rocked against me, rubbing his fat length against my clit.

  My arms circled his neck, and I held on tightly as I enjoyed him, so happy to be back in his arms. The moment was so perfect, it was hard to believe it was real. My hands flattened against his chest, and I ground against him harder, so excited to feel him stretch me so good.

  He directed my hips forward and backward, making me smear my slickness against his length. He started to shine when there was so much of it. My body defied the laws of nature and produced copious amounts.

  He pulled me harder and dragged me against him, kissing me at the same time.

  I was already about to come. I was on the threshold the second I saw him in the airport. I’d missed him so much, missed his mind, body, and soul. “Easy…” I fought against his direction. “I’m about to come.”

  “I want you to come.” He dragged me harder again. “Come on.” He rocked his hips with me, grinding into me until he pushed me into a euphoric state.

  It was much better than the evenings with my vibrator, the fantasies I acted out with Finn through a screen. Smelling his scent and feeling his kiss heightened the sensations until I was a shaking mess on his lap—and he wasn’t even inside me. “God…” My nails clawed at his chest, and I moaned right in his face.

  He moaned as he watched me, like he was getting off on my orgasm.

  When I finished, I stopped rocking against him and stared into his eyes, seeing the way he looked at me. He looked at me like I was special, like I wasn’t just some good lay. He looked at me like he loved me more than I loved him.

  His arm wrapped around my waist, and he rolled me to my back, getting between my thighs and sliding inside me with moves that were so orchestrated, it seemed like he’d practiced in his mind. He sank inside me, moving inch by inch until he was completely sheathed.

  I breathed against his mouth and squeezed his thighs with my hips. My heart beat like a drum, so loud, I swore we could both hear it. His month of absence only made me appreciate him more, made me cherish this moment more profoundly.

  “Baby, I’m not gonna last long.” His hand moved into my hair, and he closed his eyes as his dick treasured the inside of me, the slickness that my body produced just for him. His lips moved to my neck, and he kissed me before he even began.

  “It’s okay. We have all night.”

  He only thrust a few times before he hit his threshold. He came with a groan and filled me, losing his load like a teenager having sex for the first time. He tugged on my hair and growled like a bear, filling my pussy with so much come, it felt like several loads.

  His performance would be disappointing to someone else, but to me, it was sexy. Seeing this man lose himself in me so easily made me feel more beautiful, more desirable. He’d been celibate the entire time he was gone, and now all he wanted was to release deep inside my pussy, the place his dick called home.

  It turned me on all over again, made me so wet that I didn’t need his come for lubrication.

  He rested his face in my neck as he recovered, feeling the last waves of pleasure spread through his body. He lifted himself once again, his softening cock quickly changing directions and getting hard again.

  “I love watching you come.” I loved watching this man turn into a pile of hormones when he was inside me. He could have any woman he wanted, could have slept with Layla and I never would have known about it, but he stayed faithful to me because he loved me. The second he slid between my legs, he could barely keep himself together—because he never fooled around on me.

  He started to rock inside me again, his cock getting harder with every thrust. “Fuck, I missed this pussy.” He moved into me harder, like he couldn’t control himself and go at a slow pace. His hips bucked hard like he couldn’t get his dick inside me quick enough. Stripped down to a man with only his basest instincts, all he could do was fuck me—and fuck me hard.

  That was fine with me.

  I squeezed his hips with my thighs and gripped his ass with my hands, tugging him deep inside me. “Give it to me, Finn…”

  “Fuck.” His face moved into my neck, and he fucked me until he hit his limit again, coming with a deep groan. He bucked his hips hard and exploded inside me, filling me with another load of come. “I’ve never been this horny in my life.” His cock softened, but he didn’t pull out of me, as if he expected to get hard again in just minutes.

  “Me neither.”

  He kissed me again, slowly rocking with me even though his dick hadn’t swelled just yet. He breathed into my mouth and played with my hair, his lips making love to me when his body didn’t. In minutes, he was back to full-mast, stretching my channel in every direction once more. Now that he’d been satisfied with two climaxes, he slowed his thrusts down and made love to me the way he used to, having control over his urges. He kissed me and rocked into me, being there for me rather than just himself.

  Feeling his come drip from my opening while he moved deep inside me made the sensations that much better. I liked feeling my man give in to his desires by pumping deep inside me. It was the best foreplay I could have asked for.

  Now it was my turn to come all over him.

  “I love you.” He looked me in the eye with his dick fully inside me, his lips lightly caressing mine. He expressed that sentiment rarely, only when he really felt it. When we got off the phone or he dropped me off at home, he didn’t usually say it. But when he was deep in the mom
ent, he said it without thinking twice.

  I felt my body tighten as I prepared to come around him. “I love you too…”

  When I woke up the next morning, Finn was gone.

  I went downstairs and found the house empty.

  Soldier was gone too, so I assumed they were on a run together. After I made a pot of coffee, the garage door opened and they both came inside. Soldier bolted for the water bowl, and Finn grabbed his water bottle and took a long drink. His chest and forehead were drenched in sweat, like he’d done eight miles at a sprint.

  “You just got back from a month-long trip, and you decide to go on a run?”

  He took another drink, his eyes glued to mine. “I wanted to do some bonding with Soldier. He loves our runs.”

  “But still…” I took Soldier on a walk every day, but he always tugged on the leash because he wanted to go so much faster. He preferred long runs instead of the boring walks I took him on. “That’s crazy.”

  “I didn’t exercise the entire time I was there.”

  “Because you were working.”

  He shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. I can’t keep up this muscle tone without working at it.”

  I was glad he didn’t have any expectations for how he wanted my body to look. I was a couch potato—and he had no problem with that. “When do you go back to work?”

  “They gave me three days off.”

  “Three?” I asked incredulously. “That’s it?”

  “I’ve got bills to pay. Plus, I have a huge dog to feed.”

  “I guess…”

  He poured himself a cup of coffee then blotted the sweat away from his forehead with a paper towel. “Don’t worry, baby. You’ll live with me for a few weeks so we can catch up on all the time we lost.”

  “Really? I haven’t been to my apartment in so long…”

  “It’ll still be there when it’s time to go back. But for now, I want you with me every single day—and every single night.”

  There was nowhere else I’d rather be. “That sounds nice.”

  He drank from his coffee mug while his eyes stayed glued to my face. He was just in his running shorts, so his skin was tanned from the sun and his muscles bulged more because of the blood pounding in his veins. “My parents want to have us over for dinner tonight.”

  “They do?” I asked in surprise.

  “They want to hear about my trip. And they want to see you too.”

  “So, they’ll see us…together.”

  He nodded.

  “Huh…” I already knew they didn’t have a problem with me, but for the last few years, I’d been going to their house as Colton’s wife. Now I was going as their ex-daughter-in-law and potentially their new daughter-in-law.

  He studied my face. “Baby, it’ll be fine.”

  “I know. It’s just…different. Will Colton be there?”

  He nodded. “I think he’s bringing Tom.”

  “Wow…that’s a lot of change for your parents.”

  He shrugged. “Whatever. They’ll get used to it.”

  “Maybe I should make something…”

  “I thought you wanted them to like you?” he teased.

  I glared at him. “Don’t be a dick so soon. I like it when you’re sweet and affectionate.”

  “I’m always sweet and affectionate.” He came toward me, his chiseled body shifting with his movements. His eyes were set on me like a target. When he reached me, he wrapped his arms around me and brought me close.

  I didn’t care about his sweaty arms or the way he smelled like the inside of a gym locker. Naturally, I melted like I had a million times before. My hand went to his arms, and I waited for whatever would come next. “You have no idea how much I missed you.”

  “No…you have no idea how much I missed you.” I was the one who broke down in tears the second I dropped him off at the airport. I was the one who snuggled with his dog every night for comfort. I was the one who had to worry about some gorgeous doctor trying to take him away from me.

  He stared at my lips as he held me. “I want you in my bed every night from now on. I hated sleeping alone. I hated knowing you were alone, missing me. I want your body all over mine, your hair across my chest, your breath in my ear.”

  It sounded like he was asking me to move in with him, but I didn’t take his invitation literally. He probably just wanted to make up for all the time we’d lost, to get reacquainted with each other. “That sounds nice…”

  18

  Colton

  Tom pulled up to the two-story house in the quiet neighborhood. “Wow, they have a nice place.”

  “Yeah. It’s the same house I grew up in.”

  “Doesn’t look that old.”

  “Hey,” I said in offense. “I’m not that old.”

  He pulled out the bottle of wine he’d picked out. “You think they’ll like this?”

  “My mom drinks anything. I’ve seen her drink Cristal like Jay-Z and drink that blush wine out of the box. She doesn’t have any standards when it comes to booze.”

  He nodded. “I like her already.”

  “Yeah, she’s pretty cool.”

  “You think your parents will be okay with this? Or should I go in there with my guard up?”

  “No. My parents are fine with it. They took it hard in the beginning because they like Pepper so much, but now that she’s dating my brother, I don’t think they care. They’ve always liked her more than me.”

  “That worked out in our favor.” He glanced in the rearview mirror. “I don’t see Finn’s truck anywhere.”

  “He’s usually punctual, so I don’t know what’s slowing him down.”

  “Pepper,” he said with a laugh.

  We walked inside and greeted my parents. It was the first time they’d met Tom, and they were nice and warm. My mom hugged him hard and accepted the bottle of wine with gratitude, and my dad shook his hand and clapped him on the back like he was one of my friends.

  “We’ve got burgers in the back,” Mom said. “Let’s go take a seat.”

  We moved to the picnic table outside under the gazebo while Dad flipped the burgers on the grill. The salad, macaroni, and condiments were on the table with plastic covers, while the plates and utensils were at the end of the table.

  Mom poured us both a glass of wine while Dad kept working on the grill.

  “Anyone want any pineapple?” he asked.

  “I’ll take one,” I said.

  “Me too,” Tom said. “Not a bad idea.”

  “Need any help, Dad?” I asked.

  “No,” he said with a chuckle. “This is the one thing I’m good at.”

  “So,” Mom said. “Colton tells me you’re an accountant.”

  “Yep,” Tom said. “It’s a boring job but steady pay. I work normal business hours, and I’m off on weekends. I used to be a server at Applebee’s, so I’m just happy to be out of customer service.”

  “I bet,” Mom said. “I used to do that when I was young too. People can be such jerks—and terrible tippers.”

  Tom chuckled. “Very true.”

  My parents talked with Tom like everything was normal. They didn’t treat him differently or seem uncomfortable by the fact he was my boyfriend. Like he was a girl, my parents didn’t seem to care at all.

  That was nice.

  Mom glanced at the time on her watch. “Finn is really late…that’s not like him.”

  “Well, he has a girlfriend now…which is also not like him,” I jabbed.

  Mom swished her wine then shook her head. “I can’t believe it…Finn and Pepper. When he first told me, I was surprised. But after I thought about it, it all made sense. Pepper is such a lovely girl, it’s no wonder Finn fell for her like the rest of us.”

  “Yeah…she’s perfect.” I didn’t have a single bad thing to say about her.

  “And I’m glad you were so supportive about it.” Mom looked at me with pride in her eyes, a look I hadn’t received in a long time. “Anyone else would have m
ade a fuss about it, but you were so selfless…putting their happiness first.”

  Tom didn’t say anything, even though he knew I’d made a huge ordeal out of the whole thing.

  I didn’t feel worthy of the praise, so I changed the subject. “Finn is head over heels for her.”

  “He is?” she asked, her excitement obvious. “I’ve always worried he would take too long to settle down, when all the good girls were gone. But I guess he just needed to find the right woman… I’m so happy for him.”

  “Yeah, I am too.” It was hard to believe sometimes, but it was the truth. My brother was in love.

  “I hope it lasts,” she said with a sigh. “I want Finn to have his own family someday. He’s always been a lone wolf, but he needs to realize family is the greatest gift life can give you. Hopefully, Pepper makes him see that.”

  “Maybe,” I said. “He tells me that he loves her pretty often.”

  Her eyes softened. “Really?”

  I nodded.

  “Did you hear that?” Mom turned to Dad.

  “Yep.” Dad kept flipping the burgers. “Looks like we’ll have lots of grandkids soon enough.”

  “Oh, I hope so.” Mom turned back to us. “They could have a few, and you could have a few…and we’ll be so blessed.”

  It meant a lot to me that my mother pictured us having kids, that she would love my adoptive children as much as she would love Finn’s biological ones. “Yeah…that would be exciting.” Tom and I hadn’t talked about the future to that extent. For now, we were just living in the moment—which was fine with me.

  The back door opened, and Finn stepped out, dressed in a black t-shirt and denim jeans. His aviator sunglasses hung around the collar of his V-neck, the ink from his tattoos noticeable. “Something smells good.” He stepped out first, and Pepper came a moment later.

  She wasn’t as casual as she usually was. It was obvious she was uneasy about this whole thing, uncomfortable that she was with my brother when she’d been married to me for so long. “I can smell the pineapple.”

  Mom rushed to Finn and cupped his face as she kissed him on the cheek. “I’m so glad you’re home. It must have been rough down there.”